TEB Ch 69

It might sound a bit grandiose to call it a story, but Palvin was curious about how Liev, who didn’t appear particularly muscular, could handle such powerful beasts. Although Liev didn’t look weak, he didn’t seem like someone who could exhibit extraordinary strength either.

Liev explained that it required a certain technique, and Palvin, confident in his own physique, offered himself as a test subject. Liev wanted to refuse but decided to go along with it, thinking he could escape after a quick demonstration. 

Palvin stood in his spot, wrapped a towel around Liev’s waist, and Liev quickly walked over to him, making sure to topple him over. By shifting Palvin’s center of gravity, he restrained his limbs, making it nearly impossible for even a strong person to break free.

“Wow, this really does work. I didn’t know my body wouldn’t listen to me like this.” 

If Palvin hadn’t just let himself be restrained without any resistance, Liev wouldn’t have been able to easily attempt it either. But it was clear that his abilities were not ordinary. 

“Wait, a moment. Can you push it down a little harder instead of loosening it? I want to try something.” 

He was planning on doing it quickly and then running away. But perhaps Plavin’s pride was hurt by being subdued by someone smaller than him to the point of helplessness, or it was an interesting experience that gave him the spirit of challenging him. Palvin seemed to have no intention of letting Liev go. Even though, technically, he was the one being held down. With dead eyes, Liev complied with Palvin’s request, but he was suddenly caught in the act, like a spouse cheating on his partner. 

“What are you two doing?” 

No, that’s not like that! 

Liev quickly let go of the hand he was holding and threw Palvin to the side. Palvin screamed until his face hit the ground, but that wasn’t important. 

“Well then, please excuse me.” 

After that, he quickly put on the robe that he had left in the dressing room-like space and grabbed Renard’s wrist. As Liev moved to escape the scene at a fast pace, Renard still couldn’t shake off his displeasure and walked with Liev. 

“Liev, what the hell were you doing?” 

“It’s really a misunderstanding!” 

“Then what is it!?” 

Right before they reached the bedroom door, Liev weighed the status of Palvin and his own crisis to see which was more important. The outcome of the victory was in favor of the latter. As Liev entered the room, he immediately protested. 

“I don’t know….He let me try to overpower him, since I seemed stronger than I looked. I thought it would be better to just let him do it and then leave.” 

“And you expect me to believe that?” 

“It’s the truth, what can I do?” 

Renard still had a dissatisfied expression on his face. 

“……” 

He was still sulking. Liev had nothing to say, even if he had ten mouths. It wasn’t good for him to show that kind of thing. As Liev thought about how to improve Renard’s mood, he briefly wondered why he had to do that.

Why? We’re not even in a real spouse’s relationship, and we’re just like childhood friends? The talk about being companions was all Renard’s one-sided argument. It wasn’t Liev’s intention to make it seem like he was trying to be accommodating to Renard’s ridiculous newlywed behavior. So, there was no reason for Liev to be upset if he showed any signs that could be misunderstood. 

“Hmph.” 

Renard crossed his arms and pouted cutely like a duck. He was no different than when he was little, except for his size. Well, he was quite handsome, so it was natural for him to have a cute sulky expression, but his childhood habits were still evident in his expression, causing his lips to pucker. 

“Are you upset?” 

When Liev deliberately chose immature words to ask, Renard immediately snorted. 

“What? Are you upset?” 

“You’re sulking, what for?” 

“I told you!” 

Ah, he’s angry!

In the end, Renard raised his voice in anger. I was surprised by the sudden change in Renard’s tone and widened my eyes. Renard’s angry expression crumbled, and he continued to babble and make excuses. 

“Uh, I didn’t try to scare you!” 

At the same time, he couldn’t hide his blushing cheeks, and Liev liked it better like this than when Renard was trying to show off by pretending to be cool. 

“I know. What can I do to make you feel better?” 

When Liev asked with an obvious smile on his lips, Renard furrowed his brows as if he were in a bad mood. But he couldn’t bring himself to shake off Liev’s question, as it seemed like Liev would do whatever he wanted. So he grumbled and pouted like a dissatisfied puppy while wagging his tail. 

“Sleep with me.” 

“I’m already sleeping with you.” 

When Liev said this in a confused tone, Renard quickly threw away the cloth that was dividing the bed in the middle. 

“I want to hold Liev while we sleep!” 

“Hmm…” 

That didn’t seem like a good idea. Liev narrowed his eyes at the ominous request, and Renard quickly added. 

“I won’t do anything, I’ll just sleep while holding you.” 

“How can I trust you?” 

“It’s real this time! Even if Liev does it first, I won’t touch you.” 

And then he whined and whimpered like a lost puppy on a rainy day, trying to be pitiful in every way possible. Was this one of the most intelligent beings in this world? He was no different than that of a human child. Despite his doubts, Liev eventually gave in to Renard’s request and sighed. This was definitely the last time. 

*** 

And on that night, as he promised, Renard kept his promise and didn’t do anything that his mom seemed to do. Liev was really just hugging Liev and falling asleep, making Liev feel like he had become an impure adult for no reason. He really didn’t do anything? Really? He kept worrying about the center of his body touching his buttocks, thinking about what might happen, but Renard slept soundly, making noisy breathing noises as if he had truly fainted. 

Am I weird for being conscious? But he couldn’t help but be aware, as just a few days ago, he did everything he could to put it inside me. Meanwhile, Renard was the only one who slept all night, so Liev was the only one who had trouble sleeping. 

As the morning dawned and Liev got up from bed with his expectations betrayed, his eyes blinked for a moment and tensed for a moment when a hand hugged his waist. Did he target this moment when he let his guard down? After a moment of nervousness, Renard rubbed his half-closed eyes and whispered in Liev’s ear. 

“Did you sleep well?” 

This guy, who didn’t need to sleep, looked cute.

“Yeah. Let’s clean up and go downstairs.” 

Just as a servant’s voice echoed lightly through the hallway, announcing that breakfast was ready, the journey had just begun, and there were still many things to be done.

*** 

It was about an hour later that the group set off from the castle. They had expected everyone to be exhausted from the unexpected hard labor yesterday, but thanks to the other conveniences they were provided with, it wasn’t as tiring as they thought. The beds were really comfortable, and the blankets smelled good, and the group, who had been chattering about nothing, climbed back into the carriage, only to see Renard, who had transformed into a huge body, grabbing the top of the carriage and flying away as if they were used to it. 

Liev, who was sitting on Renard’s back again, was wrapped in a warm blanket that Renard had requested from the Lord. He wanted to deny that by saying it wasn’t that cold, but Renard’s will was too strong, and he couldn’t resist. 

The second stop was a village that had been swept away by monsters, leaving it in ruins. There was no sign of blood or corpses, and they were told that the biggest damage was to the communal farmland, followed by the storage warehouse for food. Fortunately, the villagers had all gone down to the lower village to prepare for a festival, so the attack happened while the village was empty. 

There were no human casualties, but the crops for the year were destroyed, and even the stored harvests were ruined. The impact was not small, as the fields turned into a wasteland. While feeling relieved that there were no human casualties, Liev felt a sense of unease.